Unexpected gerbil deaths

[Gittel]

I recently had 3 of my gerbils pass away. They were only 9 months old and had not shown any signs of illness. I did just recently purchae a much larger cage for them and the first gerbil died after a week of being in the new cage. The second gerbil died a couple days after that. I was concerned at that point that there might be something toxic in the new cage, so I moved the third gerbil to his old cage, but he died shortly after that, also. I checked the new cage over thoroughly and there are no chew marks anywhere on the cage. I also have a fourth gerbil that is housed by himself. His cage is next to the other gerbil cages and he is is doign just fine.

Now I don't know what to do about the new cage. I spent a lot of money on the cage, but I'm afraid if I put someone else in there, they might become sick also. I'm wondering what the odds are that there was something toxic in the new cage or if the gerbils could have had some underlying medical problem. (The 3 gerbils were brothers from the same litter.)

Any ideas?

[lydia]

Very sorry to hear your sad news,must be very heart wrenching.
Did they not show any symptoms at all ?
I honestly can't think it would be the new cage,to be safe,give it a thorough clean with diluted bleach.This should kill any possible germs,then wash it thoroughly with normal soapy water.Do make sure you wash all traces of bleach off,actually wash it twice,to be 100% sure.The thing is,I'd have thought you were extremely unlucky,for them to be suffering from a genetic problem,that would cause them to die.Can't help thinking,something completely different happened or caused this.

Did you place their new cage somewhere different ? Have you got a young child who may have inadvertantly done something,in complete innocence but maybe fed them a treat or something that wasn't suitable for them.Maybe you have another pet that was responsible in some way.

I am sorry that this has happened to you,and hopefully you will have some more gerbils soon,

Lyd

[Gittel]

The new cage was placed in exactly the same spot as the old cage. Their diet remained the same, as did their bedding. I have no children and no other pets had access to them. The only thing different was the new cage and the fact that I haven't been spending as much time with them lately because I broke my leg, but somehow, I doubt they missed me so much that they died from the sadness of not having me around as much (to tell the truth, I doubt they missed me at all). And I did not see any signs of illness whatsoever. They were all extremely active, even up to hours before they died.

[lydia]

Very strange,I can understand why you are thinking it is the cage.Don't know what to suggest,maybe someone else with have an idea.

Lyd

[sandy]

Hmm that is strange. Did you see any paint, or glue? Did you smell anything odd? What symptoms did the gerbils have? Did they get thin first, or have siezures, or stop eating? Could they not reach the water bottle, or did it not feed properly? Some water bottles do not let the water down until tapped, and you can't tell unless you actually see the gerbil drinking. Just thinking of some possibilities.

[lydia]

Phew,your brain cells are working Sandy.Mine have packed up .Hopefully,Gittel will be able to find out what went wrong.

Lyd

[Gittel]

Thanks, Sandy, but I thought of those things, too, and everything checked out okay - water bottle was working fine and the gerbils had absolutely no symptoms before they died (not unless they had them just minutes before death - I didn't actually see any of them pass away.) The last time I saw each of them alive, they were still busy digging in their bedding and running around on their wheel, etc. I also checked the new cage over thoroughly and could not find anything out of the ordinary.

[sandy]

How horrible for you..on top of a broken leg, at that! I hope you get better soon, and I hope you don't give up on gerbils. Will you consider getting a male partner for the one now on his own?

[Gittel]

No, I won't give up on gerbils (I might give up on that cage, though.) I like gerbils too much. I've decided not to get my lone gerbil a friend. He was an older gerbil living alone when I adopted him over 2 years ago, so I think at this point in his life he might have a hard time accepting a new friend and I wouldn't want to stress him out in his old age.

[sandy]

OK. I'm sure you give him lots of TLC instead.

[sweetie]

Hi Gittel,

I am sorry to hear about your loss and your broken leg .

I hope that all goes well for you and the gerbil in the comming months.

Thank you for sharing. I am sorry I am also at a loss regarding the cause of death.